Together
by mawee-no-baka
Summary: What an icky title :P It's finally up! A Hatori/Tohru ficcy. I'll have more chapters up soon! And YES, it WILL have a plot ^_^ R&R s'il-vous-plait!
1. Default Chapter

A/N: A request from my friend ^_^; She'd kill me if I didn't get this up... So here it is, for all you classy Hatori/Tohru fans! Enjoy! ^_^  
  
He stared blankly out the window, at the tiny white flakes that descended down onto the earth, blanketing every surface in lifeless slumber. The wintry scene reflected in his dim, olive green eyes and he felt some unseen force pulling his eyelids down. Snow had always made him drowsy.  
  
"Anou... Hatori-san?" a hesitant voice rang out behind him, breaking his trance.  
  
"Aa?" he breathed softly, turning slowly around and blinking drowsily, eyes half-shut. Sleepy, he teetered slightly. Tohru gazed at him for a moment before scrambling up to him and asking fervently if he was alright.  
  
He nodded drowsily. "Hai, hai... Snow makes me dizzy, is all..."  
  
"Would you like to lie down?"  
  
He couldn't help but let a slight smile touch his lips. She was so considerate. "No thank you, Honda-san. I'm fine."  
  
She smiled, a blush tinting her cheeks a soft sakura pink. "That's good... Ah!" she straightened her skirt compulsively and continued. "I just remembered... Yuki and Kyo and Shigure are all out shopping. We'll be alone for probably a few hours."  
  
Hatori nodded and almost replied, before he pressed his hand to his forehead with a sharp breath as it was stabbed by sudden pain.  
  
"Hatori-san! Daijoubu desu ka?" cried Tohru, her voice rising slightly with worry.  
  
Hatori shook his head as though dispelling his headacke, letting his hand fall at his side. "Gomen ne, I have a small headache. The snow again, probably..." he gave a smile, one rusty from misuse but a smile nonetheless.  
  
"Sou da ne... Would you like me to cook something for you?"  
  
He knew he should reject her offer, doing otherwise would seem like he was taking advantage of her. Obviously he was against doing that, but on the other hand he thought that perhaps some food /would/ help wake him up a bit.  
  
He hesitated, looked into her gleaming blue eyes and paused again, before saying quietly, "I /would/ like some food, but..."  
  
Honda Tohru smiled sweetly and, before he could finish, exclaimed, "Alright! Just relax on the couch and I'll make you some soup!" she skipped cheerily towards the kitchen, leaving Hatori sitting motionless on the armrest of the cough, in mid-sentence. His expression went dry. Why was it that he was always interrupted like that?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Tohru scampered around the kitchen, clutching a large pot, a wooden spoon, and various ingredients she had pulled expertly from the cupboards, which by now she knew like the back on her hand. She hummed softly as she worked, sorting the ingredients neatly on the clean counter and turning on the faucet to let cold, clear water spill into the stainless steel pot. She had on a frilly white apron, and her long, nut-brown hair was tied back into two jaunty ponytails which poured down her back behind her shoulders, preventing any stray hair from somehow, by some odd coincidence, to fall right into the soup.  
  
She put the pot on the stove without spilling a drop of water, and turned on the flames, patiently waiting for the calm water to bubble so that she could begin. A sudden noise at the other end of the kitchen made her turn her head abruptly, and there stood Hatori. Being the only one in the house other than Tohru, this was to be expected, except she hadn't expected to see anyone there at all.  
  
"Hatori-san!" she cried, surprise showing evidently in her delicate expression.  
  
The ryu spirit smiled softly and said quietly, "I thought you might like some help."  
  
Tohru froze, surprised for a moment, and shook her head unceremoniously. "No, no! Relax on the couch, you don't need to do anything!"  
  
But Hatori had already made his way up to her. He gazed around the ingredients, and as Tohru voiced her shaky acceptance and thanks of his help, he turned to look sternly at her, dank green eyes flashing ominously.  
  
"Leeks, ne?"  
  
Tohru panicked. "Oh, do you not like them? Gomen nasai! I'll make something else right away!" she began to dash madly around the kitchen again, holding the leeks in one hand and digging desperately in the cupboards for something else with the other.  
  
Hatori, dry, placed a firm hand on her thin shoulder. She froze, blushing. "Tohru-kun..." he sighed.  
  
"Ha... hai?"  
  
"Keep the leeks." He said softly.  
  
"Ah... hai..."  
  
Shyly, she placed the leeks back on the counter, nervous for some reason in the prescence of the calm and collected dragon. She always felt terribly clumsy around him, as if her feet were set in cement each time he was anywhere within seven feet of her.  
  
For several minutes they just stared at awkwardly at the water in the pot, waiting for it to boil without saying a word to one another.  
  
After several minutes, Hatori cleared his throat. Tohru had been staring at him. "Un, Honda-san?"  
  
"...Hai?"  
  
"The water's boiling."  
  
"Aah!"  
  
Blushing furiously, Tohru turned down the heat and began showing Hatori how to prepare the soup, while he watched attentively over her shoulder, handing her the random things she requested, and listening to the patient way she explained the way she prepared the meal. He felt ridiculous and like a fifth wheel, she could obviously handle this just fine without him. However, she seemed to enjoy showing him how to cook (which wasn't exactly his forte...) and was eager to share her knowledge. He almost considered leaving and letting her cook unbothered, but he enjoyed her warm, amusing company and, as always, was never afraid to learn something. She didn't seem to mind him being around either, so although the thought twirled briefly through his mind, it was lost into eternity and soon forgotten.  
  
"And now we'll cut up the leeks!" said Tohru cheerfully, and reached out to clasp the freshly rinsed leeks in her hand, not knowing that Hatori was already holding them in his delicate fingers. Instead of meeting the crisp, cold leaves that she had expected, her hand met soft, rough warmth. It took a moment for her mind to register what had just happened, and when it did she felt her face grow warm.  
  
She slowly looked up at him, her gentle blue eyes meeting his gray-green ones. He smiled awkwardly, letting his guard down for the first time she had seen and actually looking clumsy.  
  
But he quickly covered it up, and Tohru found herself wondering if she had only imagined him smiling like that in the first place.  
  
Working together, their hands brushed several times, whether it was by accident or on purpose it was difficult to tell, and yet it hardly mattered anyways. Contented and lighthearted, they prepared the chopped up pieces of leek and allowed the pot to sit for fifteen minutes as it released warm, sweet-smelling steam into the nippy winter air. The delicious scent drifted on the air, making the two wish that it would cool faster so they could eat it, since they were salivating like dogs (no offense to Shigure!) at the mere scent of it. They did nothing in particular during that idle period of time, just speaking absently of whatever subject seemed to come up.  
  
The soup was delicious. Tohru and Hatori shared the pot and ate quietly at the table, finding themselves wishing fervently that they'd made more, as one often did when they made something so good.  
  
"Arigato gozaimasu, Tohru-kun. It was delicious." Sighed Hatori, as he finished his last portion and gently set his spoon down in the bowl. With a wobbly smile, Tohru blushed prettily and whispered,  
  
"I had fun preparing it with you, Hatori-san. Are you feeling better?"  
  
"Hai..." said Hatori, warmly. He felt an icy part of him melt as he looked into her deep eyes, her face alight with blushes, relief, happiness and awkward attraction. "I feel fine. Arigato, Tohru-kun."  
  
"I'm just glad you're feeling better!"  
  
With a smile, he found he'd been doing a lot of that lately around Tohru, he mobbed solemnly over to her, heart pounding inadvertently, but cloaking it very well. Tohru, confused, whispered a soft "Ara?" as he placed his slightly trembling hands on either side of her face, rough palms brushing her soft cheeks. His eyes grew wistful and, without thinking, he softly kissed her hair, inhaling the vague, misty scent of strawberries that seemed to float around her. The two stood motionless and Tohru did her best to breathe normally as her lungs seemed to be having trouble competing against her heart which slammed hard and fast inside her ribcage. Her arms, stiff at her sides, were trembling as she felt the soft lips move slowly lower, gliding over her cheek with a phantom touch, ever so slowly closing the distance between them and her waiting mouth...  
  
Just then, with a loud, obnoxious crash, Shigure burst into the house.  
  
"Tadaima!" he hollered, "Ha-san! Tohru-kun! Something smells ni-ice~!"  
  
Hatori jerked upright and stepped out of the kitchen and into the hallway, where Shigure was setting down his things while humming a childish tune. As usual, he was perfectly happy after a day out on the town.  
  
Hatori smiled at the inu as if nothing had happened, a rather unnatural action for him, then glanced briefly at Tohru, who was still frozen in place in the kitchen, blushing deep red and with wide eyes. Luckily, Hatori noted that Shigure hadn't suspected anything, else he would have teased him and sang around the house, calling him a pervert and such as soon as he walked in. What a hypocrite.  
  
Shigure beamed insufferably and inquired, "Did you stay busy while I was gone?" his voice echoed through the house as he practically shouted his question, contentedly pulling a mysterious magazine from one of the plastic bags he had brought home. He hid it swiftly under his jacket, but Hatori was caught by a snagging suspicion of what it contained. He'd have to investigate later.  
  
The ryu gave a tiny smile. "Not to worry, we kept outselves amused. Ne, Tohru-kun?"  
  
A/N: ^_ Gomen ne, it took so long to put up... I'll have more chapters up soon! Ja ne~! 


	2. Thoughts

A/N: This chapter's kinda short, but THAT'S OK!!! ^_^; For some reason my second chapters are always short. Go figure ^_^;;; Hatori ponders about Tohru, and goes CRAZY because he talks to himself as several different people ^_^ It's fun... It doesn't seem to have a point (yet, but it will later ^_^) but oh well READ ANYWAYS!!!  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Hatori was on the couch, a smouldering cigarette held lightly between his lips. Grey vapour rose to split across the ceiling in thinning tendrils. He shivered. Had he really just done that?  
  
*~ Her face had been so soft between his hands...~*  
  
He took a long, vicious drag of the poisonous smoke, angry with himself, and angry at Shigure, although...  
  
~Perhaps...~ he thought idly to himself, "it's better that Shigure came in just then... Perhaps I shouldn't have been doing that...~  
  
The ash crumbled.  
  
~What if...~  
  
What if. Despite himself, he snorted. (A/N: Hatori: *{HONK}* Ok I've had my fun) So he'd been seized by that stupid thought again. What if.  
  
~What if she'd have rejected me?~  
  
~Don't think like that...~  
  
~You shouldn't even warm up to her. It'll all end in pain, just like last time.~  
  
~What if someone knew...~  
  
~Why...~  
  
The cigarette burned itself out, glowing ash singing the tatami as it tumbled to the floor. Hatori winced as a sharp, hot pain welled up in his bare foot.  
  
~What if I...~  
  
~You shouldn't...~  
  
~What if she...~  
  
~STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!~  
  
The dragon bit down on his extinguished cigarette with a quiet, aggravated growl. He was disgusted with himself. How could he be tripping himself over a high-school girl, like Shigure! It made him sick. It was all fine for Shigure, the Sohmas cursed with the dog's spirit had always had strange and rather perverse senses of desire, but for him, the cold and quiet ryu, it just didn't fit. Plain and simple, it wasn't right.  
  
He let his lips relax, and drolled the mangled stub of a cigarette into his outstretched palm, reaching out to let it fall gently into a nearly overflowing ashtray nearby. He sighed.  
  
This couldn't be happening to him, not again, not after Kana...  
  
Deep down, he knew he shouldn't, he knew that eventually it would all end the same way. He tried to discard his feelings, but he couldn't help it.  
  
For awhile, he just sat there, staring into emptiness. A soft humming caught his ears, gradually rising in a crescendo, indicating that it was coming closer.  
  
That could only mean...  
  
Shigure walked past the doorframe.  
  
"Shigure." called Hatori. ~Shit, no! What am I doing!?!~ he light another cigarette and perched it neatly between his lips. The dog stopped his trip to wherever-the-hell-he-was-going and walked slowly into the room, curious as to why Hatori had just called him.  
  
"Ne?"  
  
Hatori, amused at himself for actually having called Shigure, chuckled inwardly. His normal self would never say this. Maybe he was allergic to leeks.  
  
"I need to talk to someone." He scanned Shigure's face. Sure enough, there was surprise there, right in his slate-gray eyes. He sat down next to him with a tiny smirk.  
  
"Fire away."  
  
"Thanks." mumbled Hatori, handing him a cigarette. Shigure lit up with the nearly done-for lighter, expertly striking the flame.  
  
"Something wrong?" asked Shigure through the burning cylinder held between his lips.  
  
Hatori's shoulders jerked as he let out an inadvertent breath of a chuckle. "I don't even know if I should be telling you this."  
  
Neeee~? What is it?" whine Shigure, making Hatori doubt him even more. The dragon let out a breath of smoke. "It's Tohru."  
  
Shigure's eyes widened.  
  
"I think I love Tohru..." 


End file.
